WALNUT PARK : Complaints Prompt Code Crackdown

County Supervisor Gloria Molina has allocated $189,000 to fund two building inspectors and a part- time code enforcement officer for Walnut Park and the East Los Angeles area.

Molina provided the Community Development Block Grant funds, citing an increasing need for code enforcement in Walnut Park after a community watch program was begun last fall, said Robert Alaniz, Molina’s press deputy.

“We have had a number of complaints about illegal dumping, questionable garage conversions and unsightly property,” he said.

The supervisor’s office provided $60,000 in block grant funds last fall to hire additional county code enforcement workers after Walnut Park residents complained that illegal garage conversions were causing congestion. Residents said that congestion was leading to violence in the unincorporated area.

Community leaders instructed residents to report suspected illegal garage conversions to the Walnut Park Community Assn. so that it could seek county inspections. County officials said they have discovered a fairly large number of violations in Walnut Park as a result of the campaign.

“We had no enforcement. Now we have some enforcement,” said Mike Gomez, vice president of the Walnut Park Community and Merchants Assn. “It’s better. It’s improving.”